Commander Feng saw how readily he agreed, and a look of approval appeared on his face.
"No problem. If we can catch this scoundrel, it will be a great merit for our Thousand Households Office as well."
"I'll have all the case files and investigation records delivered to your Hundred Households Office at once. If you need manpower, just say the word. The Thousand Households Office's colleagues are at your disposal."
"Thank you, sir."
Su Fei picked up the case file and turned to leave.
Commander Feng watched Su Fei's departing back, a strange glint flashing through his eyes.
Why did Su Fei look so confident?
He had never heard that Su Fei excelled at lightness skills. At such a young age, possessing such formidable inner force was already impressive, not to mention that powerful palm technique.
No matter how he looked at it, Su Fei should have had no time to study anything else.
It was probably because Su Fei had a steady temperament.
When Su Fei returned to his Hundred Households Office, a thick stack of case files had already been piled on his desk, with a kraft-paper envelope set beside them.
Inside were the investigation records from last night's Zhang family massacre.
Commander Feng was clearly extremely efficient; all these materials had already been prepared and placed on the desk.
Su Fei did not waste a moment and immediately sat down to read through them.
The case files recorded Plum Blossom's criminal trail over the past five years in meticulous detail.
From his first crime in Cangzhou to his later flights through the southwest, northwest, and other regions, his victims ranged from daughters of official families to common women, yet his methods were always identical.
He slipped in deep at night, used poisonous smoke to knock the women unconscious, violated them before silencing them, then left behind a plum blossom specimen.
Su Fei's fingertips traced over the case file as the God-tier Insight Technique quietly began to operate. His mind cleared, and his thoughts became incomparably sharp.
"After committing several crimes in one place, he would vanish without a trace for a period, then move to the next location. The women he chose were all young women between sixteen and twenty."
"In Qingzhou, he chose the Zhang family in the northern part of the city. Their courtyard wall was two zhang high, yet it was as good as nonexistent to him—he breached it with ease. His lightness skill is indeed exceptional."
He opened the kraft-paper envelope. Inside were the investigation records and several sketches of the scene.
Su Fei stared at the materials and reviewed them several times.
His brow gradually furrowed.
He suddenly noticed something interesting.
These records shared one common point: every female victim had been between sixteen and twenty years old.
There was not a single one under sixteen or over twenty-one.
There was nothing wrong with him favoring that age range.
But the problem was that every one of the dozens of women victimized before and after had fallen within that very age range.
How had Plum Blossom accurately identified all these young women?
Strange indeed.
Even as an Imperial Guard, with certain conveniences at his disposal, Su Fei would have found it difficult to learn the ages of local women wherever he went.
A Flower Thief whom the martial world wanted to see beaten to death.
Where had he obtained intelligence on all these young women?
How could he have such far-reaching abilities?
Su Fei fell into deep thought.
After a long while, he thought of one place.
Household registrations. If he could see these women's household registrations, would that not mean he knew their ages and addresses?
Su Fei's eyes brightened slightly.
Plum Blossom must have first obtained these women's household registration information.
The only place where one could view household registration information was the government's Household Registration Office. Even the Imperial Guard archives could not do so.
Su Fei glanced outside. It was still daytime.
Then he should act quickly.
Perhaps Plum Blossom would go there tonight to look through the records.
Su Fei rose at once, mounted his horse, and headed for the Qingzhou Prefecture Yamen. The moment he arrived at the entrance, two guard constables saw him and immediately bowed.
"Greetings, Officer Su of the Dragon Tiger Imperial Guard."
Su Fei was slightly taken aback. He had not expected the title "Dragon Tiger Imperial Guard" to have already spread so widely that even the prefectural yamen's constables recognized him.
He waved a hand and swung down from his horse.
"No need. I need to check some records in the Household Registration Office."
He did not disclose his specific reason, lest word leak out.
One of the constables did not ask a single question and directly said to the man beside him.
"Watch this place for a moment. I'll take Lord Su to the Household Registration Office."
Then he rose and led the way.
The constable hurriedly guided him onward, his attitude respectful and without the slightest hint of neglect.
The Household Registration Office was located in a small courtyard on the western side of the prefectural yamen.
He pushed open the courtyard gate.
Only an elderly clerk sat at a stone table in the courtyard, drinking tea.
"This is Qingzhou's Household Registration Office? Why is there only one person guarding it?"
The old clerk turned toward Su Fei. Seeing the Flying Fish Robe, he knew that Su Fei was an Imperial Guard.
"My lord, this is the Household Registration Office. This humble one is the clerk in charge of this place."
"Other than the occasional visitor who comes to consult documents, hardly anyone comes here. This humble one alone guards the place."
"What are your orders, my lord?"
Su Fei swept his gaze around. The courtyard walls were only a little over one zhang high, and there was not even a single patrolling soldier.
Forget Plum Blossom, who was in the Xiantian Realm—even an ordinary petty thief could probably climb over the wall with ease.
He was already seventy to eighty percent certain as he followed the old clerk into the main hall where the Household Registration Books were stored.
"Take me inside to have a look."
The old clerk agreed and led the way ahead.
They entered a room.
Dozens of wooden shelves stood within, neatly packed with Household Registration Books. Labels were affixed to the shelves, sorting them by gender, age, and address.
Su Fei casually pulled out a volume from a shelf and opened it. It belonged to a woman in her twenties, recording in detail not only her name, age, address, and family circumstances.
It even included a palm-sized portrait, its brows and eyes clear and lifelike.
"What is this portrait for?"
The old clerk explained from the side.
"My lord, the prefectural yamen requires the portraits in household registrations to be updated once every two years, for fear that someone might impersonate another or fraudulently claim another person's identity."
Su Fei suddenly saw the light.
The Household Registration Books even contained portraits.
It all fit. It all fit. Before every crime, Plum Blossom must have gone to the Household Registration Office.
He had obtained Miss Zhang's information from here.
It was no coincidence that Plum Blossom could precisely locate the homes of women between sixteen and twenty, knowing both their addresses and appearances so clearly.
The Household Registration Office's defenses were lax. With Plum Blossom's perfected lightness skill and stealth techniques, sneaking in here to read the Household Registration Books would be as easy as turning over his hand.
"Have any strangers come here recently? Or have you heard any disturbances at night?"
The old clerk thought carefully, then shook his head.
"No, my lord. The last people from the prefectural yamen to come here were a month ago. Recently, other than you, my lord, not a single person has come here during the day."
Su Fei was not surprised. With Plum Blossom's abilities, slipping in under an ordinary old clerk's nose would leave no traces at all.
Even if the old clerk happened upon Plum Blossom by sheer luck, what could he have done? He would likely have become a corpse already.
He returned the household registration book to its original place.
As long as Plum Blossom still intended to commit crimes in Qingzhou, he would certainly visit this place again.
Su Fei casually looked through several more Household Registration Books in the Household Registration Office.
After asking the old clerk a few more trivial questions about its daily management, he rose to take his leave.
"Thank you for your trouble, old sir."
Before you continue